Walking into this Tavern was a chore all on its own. Circle almost blanched when she felt the intense wave of power emerging from these figures, not all of them were Dominators, she would have sworn she also saw Mages and Demons sitting behind some of the tables, but she soon settled when she remembered that on this planet the Lightning Kirin had vowed that no one was permitted to commit acts of violence.

This was one of the safest places in the entirety of the Empire, second only to the capital Aroth.

Although she could sense a simmering wave of violence inside the patrons of this tavern that was only being held back by the restrictions in place. Great enemies sitting side by side, and none of them are willing to break this rule.

Circe sat on a vacant table near the middle of the tavern and Archimedes flew over to order their drinks. She sighed in relief when she noticed that her table was equipped with Runes that blocked the waves of power leaking from the bodies of those who sat there.

Whoever made the Runes must be a master Runesmith for it not only blocked the wave of power being emitted by those here, it also served other functions, like blocking out sounds or sights, it was even possible to watch current news, deal in business and many other functions that were available using a hovering holographic display in the middle of the table.

The pressure Circe had been under was astonishing these past few days. She had barely survived her brief interaction with the god at that place she went to retrieve the box Nana left for her which she had not yet opened, and with the increasing number of powerful beings she had been meeting as Archimedes carried her through the galaxy had made Circe more than once to question her motivations.

Conviction was a simple thing when you were in a safe environment, but those beliefs would truly be tested when there was nothing to shield you from the storm and Circe chose to believe in herself. That was pretty much her conclusion after going through the harrowing experience of the last few days and recognizing that it would be getting harder from here on out.

She was safe when she was with the enigmatic Rowan, but she did not want to be lured under his banner. That man scared her like nothing she had ever known, and she would not deny that she also found him endlessly fascinating.

He entered her world and everything changed, he was something both magnificent and terrible, like a storm, and being near him was tantamount to standing beside a hurricane or an erupting volcano. Circe was a firefly and Rowan was an eternal flame, she would lose herself if she did not flee.

Even now, the desire to reach out to him was ever present in her heart, she knew he would listen, and those golden dragon eyes would make all her problems seem insignificant. He would smile that soul-crushing grin, and he would say, “That is nothing before me…”

Archimedes returned holding in her paws, two heavy bottles of a mysterious frothing liquid, interrupting the fantasy in her mind.

“Drink up girl, after the tremendous stress we have been enduring for the last few days, we all deserve a few drops of the greatest booze in the galaxy in our bodies. Trust me, I got us here, the seventh greatest item on the menu, Blue Fog! I wish I could go higher, but I have to be a god to afford something at that price. Damnit, I want to taste the top drinks on the menu before I die.”

The Lightning Kirin sighed regretfully and uncorked the bottles, Circe was nearly blown back by the strong scent from the opened bottles, ignoring Circe, the Lightning Kirin gulped down her bottle with relish, her catlike face squeezing together in pleasure. She fell into a satisfied slump in her chair, her eyes closed as she belched, blue steam began to emerge from her body and she sighed in pleasure before her body was entirely covered by the blue fog.

Ten minutes later she opened her eyes and frowned, Circe was still dancing around picking up her bottle, she shot a tiny bolt of lightning at the girl and groaned aloud, “For goodness sake girl, drink the damn thing, don’t tell me a little bit of liquor is going to make you rub your hands like a little virgin about to be **ed. Wait, are you still a virgin?”

Circe frowned at her crude words, but she decisively picked up the bottle and began gulping it down,

“That’s it…” Archimedes crooned, “Slow down a bit, you don’t want to choke, if you do, your head will be blown clean off, you are ingesting enough energy to light up a city.”

Circe choked, and with a force of will she stopped herself from spitting out the drink, even if she did not die, half her face would be blown off, ‘this silly cat loves her game,’ she fumed internally.

After she finished, she opened her mouth to condemn Archimedes, then she stopped when blue fog began escaping from every pore in her body, and a sense of relaxation she had never known flooded her system.

“Told you I would bring you to get the good stuff didn’t I?” Archimedes smirked and relaxed back in her seat.

They stayed this way for a while, lost in bliss when they were distracted by a girl with white hair who came to their table to collect the bottles and asked if they wanted seconds.

Archimedes looked conflicted before she groaned, “** it, let’s break the bank. Two more rounds.”

“Coming right up,” The girl smiled, her white teeth appearing a bit too blazing when set against her black skin.

Something about her black skin and her long white hair struck Circe as important, but she was too deep in the alcohol-fueled haze to understand where her source of disquietness was coming from.

The drinks soon arrived and they barely had the time to enjoy it when a strong presence that did not bother to hide his Aura barged into the tavern.

The figure looked around and his sight zoomed towards Circe and Archimedes and he grinned.

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